Full Speed Ahead In NCAA DIII Women’s XC National Coaches’ Poll

NEW ORLEANS — Take a good look at the most recent NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll that was released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) SUNY Geneseo MIT Williams Johns Hopkins Washington (Mo.) View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Chances are that after this weekend, you’ll never see it like that again. That’s because we’re about to embark on the biggest weekend of the season to date with ranked teams canvassing the landscape in an attempt to prove their mettle.

You’ll want to train your eyes to focus on three big invitationals in particular: Rowan’s Inter-Regional Border Battle, UW-Oshkosh’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational (formerly known as the AAE Invitational) and UW-La Crosse’s Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational.

We’ll start in Glassboro, New Jersey because it has the most enticing matchup. Unanimous No. 1 SUNY Geneseo squares off against 2nd-ranked MIT and 4th-ranked Johns Hopkins in what should be an incredible battle between top-5 teams. Cross country fans will also see 11th-ranked RPI, 12th-ranked St. Lawrence, 14th-ranked Ithaca, 19th-ranked Allegheny (Pa.), 21st-ranked Emory, 25th-ranked Haverford and 28th-ranked Otterbein compete against the Knights, Engineers and Blue Jays.

NATIONAL PDFs: Summary | Week-By-Week 2016 | Week-By-Week All-Time
Regional Rankings: Week 5 Summary | Week 5 Recap

CHECK OUT THE MEN’S NATIONAL COACHES’ POLL

Let’s head west to Winneconne, Wisconsin, where 17th-ranked UW-Oshkosh hosts a plethora of ranked teams. Joining the Titans at the Lake Breeze Golf Club will be 5th-ranked Washington (Mo.), 8th-ranked Calvin, 16th-ranked Hope, 20th-ranked Chicago (Ill.), 26th-ranked St. Thomas (Minn.), 29th-ranked UW-Eau Claire (up one spot from last week) and 35th-ranked Willamette.

Staying in Wisconsin, the race dedicated to Tori Neubauer will feature two top-20 teams and one knocking on the door to get in. Host UW-La Crosse, the 7th-ranked team in the nation, faces 15th-ranked Carleton and 22nd-ranked St. Olaf.

This weekend also serves as a preview for the weekend of November 12 when many of those same teams will return to these same courses to compete at the NCAA DIII Regional Championships. Such will be the case in New Jersey (Inter-Regional Border Battle) and Wisconsin (Kollege Town Sports Invitational).

One week later, the 2016 NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships will be held in Louisville, Kentucky at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park. This marks the second consecutive year that E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park hosted a championship meet as the 2015 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships took place there as well.